Worldwide Commercial Fishing
This page discusses several types of commercial fishing and seafood harvesting including groundfishing, netting, fish trapping, clamming, crabbing, lobstering, shrimping, scalloping and more.
Although vast improvements have been made towards safe fishing practices, commercial fishing is still the most dangerous job in the USA and other countries.
Commercial fishing has played a vital role in American culture and continues to be an important component of the U.S. economy.
American commercial fishermen landed 7.9 billion pounds or 3.6 million metric tons valued at $3.9 billion in 2009.
Although vast improvements have been made towards safe fishing practices, commercial fishing is still the most dangerous job in the USA and other countries.
Commercial fishing has played a vital role in American culture and continues to be an important component of the U.S. economy.
American commercial fishermen landed 7.9 billion pounds or 3.6 million metric tons valued at $3.9 billion in 2009.
Contents at a Glance
USA Commercial Fishing
In the USA, fishermen catch a wide variety of fish, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, scallops, clams, oysters, mussels, calamari, conch (whelk), urchins, abalones, and other seafood. Commercial Fishing Links
These links are commercial fishing and seafood-related.
- www.commercial-fishing.org
- www.commercial-fishing.org - news, events, information, forums, commercial boats for sale, a business and organization directory, galleries and more.
- Commercial Fishing Jobs
- This page has commercial fishing jobs information.
- Fresh Seafood
- Seafood news, information, events ,photos, festivals and more.
- Commercial Fishing Photo Gallery
- Pictures of boats, disasters at sea, fishing gear, fish, seafood, regions
- How to Find Commercial Fishing Jobs in the USA
- The industry needs a new generation of workers and some people manage to enter commercial fishing with little or no experience.
- www.chesapeake-bay.org
- Chesapeake Bay News provides Chesapeake Bay and regional news, events, articles and other information.
- USA Sea Grant Programs
- In 1966, the United States Congress established the National Sea Grant College Program. The program is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- Commercial Fishing Videos - DVDs
- This page offers a collection of commercial fishing DVDs available for online purchase.
- Commercial Fishing Books
- This page has a collection of commercial fishing books available for online purchase.
American and Canadian Sea Scallop Fisheries
The sea scallop fishery is the largest and most valuable wild scallop fishery in the world, and in 2007 was the most valuable single-species fishery in the United States. Recent landings have been worth about $400 million dock-side, with major landing ports at New Bedford, Massachusetts, Cape May, N.J., and Hampton Roads, Virginia.Scallops are trawled or dredged, and quickly returned to port or shucked at sea and kept on ice for the trip ashore. American sea scallopers fish from the Grand Banks to Virginia. Boats fish year round when regulations allow, with boats fishing in 30-40 fathoms for the most part.The commercial scallop fishery in the USA is heavily regulated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Crabbing
Blue Crabs
Blue crabs are fished commercially in may areas of the USA, but the heart of the fishery is from New Jersey down to North Carolina. The bulk of the crabbing occurs in the Chesapeake Bay. Watermen set pots, bank traps, trot lines or dredge for crabs, depending on the season and location. Hard crabs are the main target, although a big market in some areas is the soft crab fishery. Crabs near molting, called "shedders" or "peelers" are caught and kept in captivity until they shed their hard shell. The soft crabs are then rushed to market fresh, or frozen for later sale.
Stone Crabs
In Florida, stone crabs are caught commercially using baited traps. Stone crabs can be found as far north as North Carolina and as far west as Texas, but most stone crab claws are commercially harvested in Florida. Florida law forbids the harvesting of whole stone crabs. Instead, fishermen remove one or both claws and return the live crab to the water, where it can regenerate its lost limbs in about 18 months. The stone crab is typical among Florida's top commercial seafood products in terms of dockside value, ranking second behind shrimp.
Alaskan Crabs
Several species of crabs are harvested along the coast of Alaska and Western Canada. The fishery is known for its danger, cold weather, potential big profits and loss of life. The popular television series "Deadliest Catch" has brought international recognition to the commercial fleets crab the area.
Among them, the king crab, snow crab and dungeness crabs. King crabs are the largest crabs caught in the world.
Blue crabs are fished commercially in may areas of the USA, but the heart of the fishery is from New Jersey down to North Carolina. The bulk of the crabbing occurs in the Chesapeake Bay. Watermen set pots, bank traps, trot lines or dredge for crabs, depending on the season and location. Hard crabs are the main target, although a big market in some areas is the soft crab fishery. Crabs near molting, called "shedders" or "peelers" are caught and kept in captivity until they shed their hard shell. The soft crabs are then rushed to market fresh, or frozen for later sale.
Stone Crabs
In Florida, stone crabs are caught commercially using baited traps. Stone crabs can be found as far north as North Carolina and as far west as Texas, but most stone crab claws are commercially harvested in Florida. Florida law forbids the harvesting of whole stone crabs. Instead, fishermen remove one or both claws and return the live crab to the water, where it can regenerate its lost limbs in about 18 months. The stone crab is typical among Florida's top commercial seafood products in terms of dockside value, ranking second behind shrimp.
Alaskan Crabs
Several species of crabs are harvested along the coast of Alaska and Western Canada. The fishery is known for its danger, cold weather, potential big profits and loss of life. The popular television series "Deadliest Catch" has brought international recognition to the commercial fleets crab the area.
Among them, the king crab, snow crab and dungeness crabs. King crabs are the largest crabs caught in the world.
Commercial Fishing Books
Out on the Deep Blue: Women, Men, and the Oceans They Fish
Nineteen diverse fisher-writers, from the famous t more...1 point
The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky
"Part treatise, part miscellany, unfailingly entertaining." more...0 points
The Empty Ocean by Richard Ellis
"As the human population has increased, the marine more...0 points
Groundfishing and Trawling
Groundfishing is a term used for multi-species fisheries which harvest bottom dwelling fish such as halibut, flounder, cod, haddock and others. Groundfish are caught with bottom trawls, or drag nets, as well as by hook-and-line and traps.Trawling is one of the most common methods of commercial fishing. Trawls utilize nets that are towed by one or more boats. Specialized types of trawls include beam trawls, midwater trawls, pair trawls, Danish seines, Scottish seines and others.
Beam trawls are a common type of trawl gear. The rig consists of a twine bag attached to a beam which is towed via cables. The gear is designed to slide along the bottom rather than dredge the bottom.
Midwater trawling, also known as pelagic trawling, uses gear that operates higher in the water column than the bottom of the ocean. Midwater trawls consist of a cone-shaped net can be towed behind a single boat and spread by trawl doors. Midwater trawls can also be towed behind two boats (pair trawling) which act as the spreading device. Midwater trawling techniques are used to catch pelagic seafood such as anchovies, herring, mackerel, tuna and shrimp.
The bulk of U.S.East Coast groundfish trawling occurs off the coast of New England. Boats fishing out of ports such as New Bedford and Gloucester Massachusetts harvest cod, haddock, pollock, whiting, red hake, summer flounder, yellowtail flounder, redfish, monkfish and other groundfish. Along the Mid-Atlantic coast, similar boats trawl for flounder, sea bass and other species.
New technology is allowing fishermen, scientists and net makers to create more efficient gear. In 2007, Captain Phil Ruhle was recognized along with David Beutel and Laura Scrobe from the University of Rhode Island, and fellow fishermen James O'Grady and Phil Ruhle, Jr., as the grand prize winners of the 2007 World Wildlife Fund's International Smart Gear Competition. The award credited this team for designing the new trawl, developed under the copyrighted name "The Eliminator," which proved highly effective at reducing bycatch.
On July 23, 2008, Captain Ruhle perished when his fishing vessel, the F/V SEA BREEZE, capsized and sank off New Jersey. Renaming the new gear the Ruhle Trawl is to honor Captain Ruhle as a significant contributor to the development of this gear and an innovator in the fishing industry.
Ruhle Trawl Article
New England - USA Northeast Commercial Fishing Books
The Fishes of the Sea: Commercial and Sport Fishing in New England by Dave Preble
A fascinating overview of the history and nature o more...1 point
All Fishermen Are Liars: True Tales from the Dry Dock Bar by Linda Greenlaw
ust before Christmas, Linda meets up with her best more...0 points
Against the Tide: The Fate of the New England Fisherman by Richard Adams Carey
The world of the independent fisherman is a world more...0 points
Shrimping
Shrimping is another important American commercial industry. Separate shrimp fisheries exist in the Gulf of Maine, North Carolina thru Texas, and in the Pacific Northwest. Commercial Fishing Calendars
Books - Commercial Fishing Boats
Boats of Alaska: An Artist's Guide to Commercial Fishing Boats by Pedro Denton
Boats of Alaska: An Artist's Guide to Alaska's Com more...0 points
Boats of Alaska: An Artist's Guide to Commercial Fishing Boats by Pedro Denton
Boats of Alaska: An Artist's Guide to Alaska's Com more...0 points
Commercial Fishing T Shirts
Looking for a commercial fishing or saltwater fish t-shirt? Visit Outdoors USA online store to find fish and fishing shirts and commercial fishing shirts.
USA Commercial Fishing Regulations
Commercial fishermen face an ever increasing array of regulations. This list highlights just some of the issues that American commercial fishermen are subject to.Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Programs
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) programs are a type of limited access privilege program (LAPP), which provide individual fishermen or corporations the exclusive privilege to harvest a certain percentage of the total allowable catch (TAC) of a fishery. IFQ programs allow individual licenses or "shares" to be bought and sold in the marketplace. Market-based fishery management programs are recognized as as an effective way match the amount of fishing capacity in a fishery with the amount of fish that may be taken by the fishery. A priority of the Bush Administration outlined in the Ocean Action Plan is to double the number of LAPPs by the year 2010.
HACCP
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires all seafood dealers and processors that sell histamine-forming fish to follow strict monitoring and control procedures to prevent the development of histamine. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a food safety program dealers and processors use to protect their seafood against bacterial, chemical or physical hazards that could harm consumers.
Vessel Monitoring Systems
NMFS uses Vessel Monitoring Systems in several commercial fisheries. Systems track a vessel from port to the fishing area and back, recording the areas where seafood is harvested.
"We are increasingly relying on satellite technology to monitor fishing near closed areas, and this decision supports the hard work that NOAA Fisheries enforcement agents put in to protect marine fisheries for honest fishermen." - Bill Hogarth, former NOAA Fisheries director
Alaska Commercial Fishing Books
Highliners: The Classic Novel about the Commercial Fishermen of Alaska by William McCloskey
A college student's initiation into the world of "highliners," more...1 point
The Last Fisherman by Gary Colvin
The book is a historical novel that tells the stor more...1 point
Time Bandit: Two Brothers, the Bering Sea, and One of the World's Deadliest Jobs by Andy Hillstrand, Johnathan Hillstrand, Malcolm Macpherson
"Many brave hearts are asleep in the deep, so more...1 point
Breakers: A Novel about the Commercial Fishermen of Alaska by William McCloskey
In this novel, Fisherman Hank Crawford must fight to more...0 points
For the Love of Fishing by Jack Ranweiler
Thirty years of commercial fishing in Alaska, and the more...0 points
Commercial Fishing in Alaska (Alaska Geographic) by Joel Gay
Alaska Geographic is an award-winning series that more...0 points
Surviving the Island of Grace: A Memoir of Alaska by Leslie Leyland Fields
Twenty-three fishing seasons ago, Leslie Fields le more...0 points
Boats of Alaska: An Artist's Guide to Commercial Fishing Boats by Pedro Denton
Boats of Alaska: An Artist's Guide to Alaska's Com more...0 points
Breakers: A Novel about the Commercial Fishermen of Alaska by William McCloskey
In this novel, Fisherman Hank Crawford must fight to more...0 points
Seafood Certification Programs
Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organization promoting solutions to the problem of overfishing. The MSC runs the world's leading independent eco-label for wild-capture fish. It is the only seafood eco-label that is consistent with both UN FAO guidelines for fisheries certification and the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards. In total, around 80 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 26 certified, 41 under assessment and another 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment. Together these fisheries record annual catches of over four million tons of seafood. They represent 42 percent of the world's wild salmon catch, 40 percent of the world's prime whitefish catch, and 18 percent of the world's lobster catches for human consumption. Worldwide, over 1,000 seafood products from certified fisheries now bear the blue MSC eco-label. For more information, please visit www.msc.org.
The Marine Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organization promoting solutions to the problem of overfishing. The MSC runs the world's leading independent eco-label for wild-capture fish. It is the only seafood eco-label that is consistent with both UN FAO guidelines for fisheries certification and the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards. In total, around 80 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 26 certified, 41 under assessment and another 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment. Together these fisheries record annual catches of over four million tons of seafood. They represent 42 percent of the world's wild salmon catch, 40 percent of the world's prime whitefish catch, and 18 percent of the world's lobster catches for human consumption. Worldwide, over 1,000 seafood products from certified fisheries now bear the blue MSC eco-label. For more information, please visit www.msc.org.
Search Amazon for more Commercial Fishing Books
Stricter USA Commercial Fishing Vessel Regulations Likely
On March 21, 2008 the Bush Administration approved an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) as part of a regulatory effort to develop amendments to United States Coast Guard commercial fishing industry vessel regulations. The ANPRM will be published in the Federal Register. The ANPRM announces the Coast Guard's intention to solicit feedback from the commercial fishing industry prior to developing additional regulations.
The proposed changes would enhance maritime safety by adding new requirements for vessel stability and watertight integrity, stability training and assessments, vessel maintenance and self-examinations, immersion suits, crew preparedness, safety training, emergency preparation, safety and training personnel, safety equipment, and documentation. Miscellaneous conforming, clarifying, and other administrative changes are also contemplated. Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before July 29, 2008.
More information:
An article on U.S. Commercial Fishing Regulations.
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-6477.htm
http://www.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/fr-cont.html
The proposed changes would enhance maritime safety by adding new requirements for vessel stability and watertight integrity, stability training and assessments, vessel maintenance and self-examinations, immersion suits, crew preparedness, safety training, emergency preparation, safety and training personnel, safety equipment, and documentation. Miscellaneous conforming, clarifying, and other administrative changes are also contemplated. Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before July 29, 2008.
More information:
An article on U.S. Commercial Fishing Regulations.
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-6477.htm
http://www.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/fr-cont.html
Commercial Fishing Apparel
Sockeye Salmon T Shirt
Vessel owners wanting customized t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, bumper stickers, coffee mugs, buttons, cards, key chains and other gear can find artwork suitable for commercial fishing at this Fish - Fishing - Seafood online store.
This special online shop offers a large collection of fishing and seafood artwork which can be customized with a vessel name or other text. This allows fishermen or boat owners to create a personalized item to suit their exact needs.
For fishermen, owners, this is a simple, cost effective way to obtain custom gear for a business. In addition to untitled fish art, the online store offers an extensive collection of pre-titled fish and seafood logos.
To create a custom shirt, hat or other product, browse the store and choose your favorite design, then look for the orange "customize it" button.
Commercial Fishing Information
Commercial Fishing Electronics and Equipment
Regional Seafood
America's Most Dangerous Job
Commercial fishing is the United States' deadliest occupation, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.Fishermen recorded the highest occupational fatality rate of 111.8 per 100,000 workers in 2007. There were 39 commercial fishing and hunting deaths in 2007, down from 51 deaths in 2006.
West Coast crabbing vessels continue to have the highest fatality rate of any West Coast fishery.
The Coast Guard, citing fatality studies by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, considers the Dungeness fishery as the most dangerous in the Northwest.
Between 2000 and 2006, when 17 Dungeness crabbers died in capsizings and other accidents.
Coast Guard photo/PA1 Kurt Fredrickson
Commercial Hook and Line Fishing - Trotlines, Longlines, Etc.
Longlines and tub trawls use multiple hooks baited with natural or artificial lures and attached to a long line. Either gear type may be anchored or permitted to drift at any level in the water.
Commercial Fishing Feedback
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MillBucks
Feb 4, 2012 @ 2:15 am | delete
- Great informative and interesting lens, this brings the reality and dangers of commercial fishing to light. Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention.
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4U2C
Jan 21, 2012 @ 9:21 am | delete
- Just recently, one of my sons "landed" a job on a commercial fishing vessel in Alaska. Ever since we started paying a bit more attention to the fishing industry there, we gained a new appreciation for all of the hard work the crews endure, to bring our favorite seafoods to the table.
Excellent Lens! Kudos to author!
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Tolovaj
Jan 12, 2012 @ 2:49 am | delete
- Very interesting subject. And controversial too. I heard a lot about ecological aspects of commercial fishing. Maybe a lens about pros and cons? Just an idea... Great info. Thumbs up!
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jadehorseshoe
Dec 20, 2011 @ 11:15 pm | delete
- An Encyclopedia!
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waldenthree.net
Dec 10, 2011 @ 10:33 am | delete
- Important topic for Virginia . Your topic is better than mine. Virginia Tomorrow.
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